Page 29 of A Reckless Memory

“Yes,” I said so he’d know I meant it.

The server swung by and we ordered. Then I was faced with my perplexed brother. “Her daddy liked me, and he wanted her to stay on the ranch.”

“How much?”

“Two million.”

He let out a low whistle. “Shit, that’d be hard to say no to. Were you already dating her?”

I shook my head, knowing how bad it made me look. “Back then, I had more sense about dating the boss’s daughter. She seemed like a cool chick. A girl I could race through pastures with and then go out dancing with, but naw, I wasn’t gonna date her. My job was more important.”

“When you said you fucked it up bad, I didn’t think... And here I thought I got myself into a mess with Delaney.” He took a drink of his water. Neither of us were big drinkers. For a while, Dad lost himself in a bottle. Enough that Archer and I were social drinkers only. That the two of us refrained when we were together was a little of the solidarity we had growing up.

“What happened with you and Delaney? You were some big shot land broker and then you said you bought some land in Coal Haven with your wife.”

He waved it off like his former career had been nothing when he’d made millions a year. “She called me on my city-slicker bullshit. I wanted her, so I listened. I guess you and I needed to be called on our shit.”

“I’m not sure if I should be touched or not,” I said wryly.

“Well, if I wanted to do any touching, I had to look at what I really wanted from life. And I guess that’s where you’re at.”

“I’m not dating Aggie. She’s not interested, and this job is...” I had no fucking clue. A saving grace? A stepping-stone? A time killer? All of the above? “North Dakota’s not my home.”

“I never thought it would be mine either, but I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” He stirred the ice around in his glass with his straw. “So...the job with Aggie? How’d that come about after what happened?”

“Her way to get revenge. She saw I was in a bad way, and I happen to have basement rates for the moment.”

“But you and her—”

“Are history. Nothing more.” I only watched her walk Tex every damn morning. She kept him on a leash so he wouldn’t run and spook the horses—or so he couldn’t come greet me, forcing her to get closer than a hundred yards away.

I stayed far from the house when she was home. It’d been hard enough to think about how my world had crumbled around me. I didn’t need to see evidence of the good woman I’d missed out on. Especially when she’d take Tex by the horses in the evening to get him used to the bigger animals and to get them accustomed to him. Same with the cats. He was good around the chickens. The barn blocked most of my view, but I caught enough.

“Did you tell Dad you’re here yet?”

Sheepish, I pushed my hand through my hair. “I will. I’ll call tomorrow.”

“He’s worried about you.”

“He’s always worried.” Yet I felt like talking to him. Just to ask him how he was doing.

“So. Miss Kansas?”

More of my past I wasn’t proud of. “I didn’t want the same things she wanted, and I knew she was getting more serious than I was, but...I had a good thing going.” My brother’s jaw tightened. What could I say? Complacent or complicit—the outcome had been the same. “When I finally pulled the plug, she exploded. Accused me of using her, stringing her along, even cheating on her—which was bullshit. She spewed all kinds of lies to her dad.”

“The dad who was your boss.”

“You got it.” Telling the story felt like a third-party recount. I was numb by now. The Knights had run me off, then I drifted from here to there, and finally, the blowout. I was the common denominator. Karma, delayed retribution, hell, I didn’t know. I must’ve deserved it.

“The allegations?”

I lifted my hands. “He could’ve fired me for the breakup. I’d have walked. Instead, I thought we could be professional, but he made work hell. Then the horses I handled developed bruises and behavioral issues, and I’d get blamed. I found another job and quit, and he’s been tracking my employers down and telling them lies. I can’t do a damn thing but leave quietly every time I get fired. It’s my word against his, and his is a lot more powerful than some trainer out of a dirt patch in Texas. It’s been months, and the man still has a hornet up his ass.”

“All because you broke up with his daughter?” Archer’s disbelief matched mine. Made no damn sense, but it didn’t have to when emotions were involved, and Stephanie was nothing if not emotional. What I had thought was a harmless personality trait, like flying off the hinges when she was mildly inconvenienced, turned damaging enough when it was more than a venti blended frap getting screwed up. Made sense since she’d honed the trait with her dad.

“It was like Aggie all over again, only no money exchanged hands. They acted like I did nothing but try to worm my way into the family and steal everything they had.” Once I’d seen what Stephanie’s intentions were—happily ever after and running her dad’s business together, I’d bailed. Hard. The thought made me nauseous. Even worse was wondering if, deep down, that was what I’d been doing.

“Dad said you were winning.”

---